10 Popular Myths You Probably Believe Are Actually True

December 24, 2015

From a young age, we’re fed certain ‘facts’ that we usually find out several years down the line are completely made up. But sometimes – just sometimes – those ‘facts’ linger around, and we often find ourselves referring to them as absolute truths. But how can we distinguish the myths from the facts?

A recent thread on Reddit posed the question: “What are some things that are told as facts, but are actually myths?” We’ve selected some of our favourites below. How many of these popular myths did you still believe were real?

1. “If you swallow chewing gum it stays in your stomach for 7 years.” – theartofeverything [It usually passes through your body like all other food]

7. “We are often told that ancient civilizations thought the Earth was flat. This is just a modern myth, end of 1800 possibly. When a ship sails towards an island what they first see is the top of the mountains, while at the same time they still cannot spot the shores. This is why almost everyone in the past knew the Earth is a sphere.” – Munninnu

8. “We have 5 senses. We actually have many more, such as balance.” – robochicken11

9. “Myth: Shaving makes hair grow back thicker. Fact: When most people start shaving their hair follicles are still maturing. (Think a teen shaving his face.) As they continue shaving throughout their life their beard matures and comes in all the way. Shaving has absolutely no affect on the development of hair.” – chin_my_sack